NIFL Premiership
Cliftonville 4-3 Linfield
CLIFTONVILLE produced a stunning comeback to edge out Linfield 4-3 in a seven-goal thriller at Solitide on Tuesday evening.
Despite trailing twice to goals from Jordan Stewart and Jamie Mulgrew, the hosts hit back through Michael McCrudden and Conor McMenamin before McMenamin nudged the Reds ahead for the first time with little under 10 minutes remaining.
Ryan Curran looked to have set the seal on the victory with a fourth just before the 90, but Linfield made it a nervy finish with Kirk Millar sweetly striking a consolation free-kick in injury time.
The Reds then saw the game out to claim their first league victory over the Blues since April 2018, much to the relief of manager Paddy McLaughlin who was pleased with his side's character and response to set-backs.
“That’s why they (Linfield) are champions because they’ve got that staying in the game power and can turn the game on its head in the blink of an eye,” reflected McLaughlin.
“We spoke about that before the game and how we might have plenty of possession, but you’ve got to be wary of the counter attack
as they’ve got the quality and they showed it.
“Again, the character was tested the second time and we came back again, not only to score the equaliser but to take the lead and then extend the lead. I was disappointed with the last goal at the death because it made it a nervous finish.
“But the response every time we had a set-back was phenomenal and I think we fully deserved the three points. It was an excellent performance, as good a performance we’ve had in a long time and a brilliant result for us."
Ryan Curran challenges Jordan Stewart
McLaughlin made one alteration to the starting 11 from the last game, two weeks ago against Crusaders.
Conor McDermott dropped out through injury and Michael McCrudden came in for a rare start.
Linfield drew first blood after 13 minutes under the Solitude lights when Conor Pepper slipped the ball inside to Jordan Stewart and Stewart produced a confident finish to give the Blues the advantage.
Cliftonville responded within five minutes as Rory Hale ran onto a forward pass, cut inside and squared the ball to Michael McCrudden who fired home via the post for his fourth league goal of the season.
Linfield had long spells of possession in the aftermath and just after the half hour mark they carved out another opening.
Navid Nasseri threaded the ball through to Jordan Stewart with his back to goal and the goalscorers cut-back was over-hit and just evaded any danger in the area.
At the other end, Conor McMenamin played a neat one-two with Michael McCrudden whose flick back provided an opening for the winger who shot into the side netting as the sides went in level at the interval in North Belfast.
Linfield started the second period brightly with Stewart firing wide of the target and Chris Curran bravely blocking a Navid Nasseri effort before Stewart’s follow-up attempt was also deflected away from danger.
The Blues regained the lead after 65 minutes in fortuitous circumstances as captain Jamie Mulgrew’s effort took a deflection off Jamie Harney and wrong-footed Aaron McCarey to make it 2-1.
Cliftonville threatened an instant reply with the Currans linking up only for Mark Haughey to head Ryan Curran’s header over the bar at the expense of a corner.
Haughey had to make a vital interception to halt imminent danger from Conor McMenamin shortly after and with little over a quarter of an hour remaining the Reds pressure paid off.
Conor McMenamin turned inside the area off balance and shrugged off the attention of Conor Pepper before unleashing a low drive into the corner.
Jordan Stewart clips the ball over Aaron McCarey and into the net 
The winger then let fly with an effort that scaled the crossbar moments later as Paddy McLaughlIn’s men smelt blood.
On 82 minutes, the turnaround was complete as McMenamin intercepted a long, diagonal pass from Jamie Harney and his low shot escaped the clutches of Chris Johns and found the net to make it 3-2.
Linfield may have felt aggrieved to see a penalty shout waved away moments later as Harney collided with substitute Stephen Fallon inside the area, but referee Raymond Crangle was uninterested.
It looked as though Cliftonville had sealed victory a minute short of the 90th with substitute Daire O’Connor’s cut-back falling to Ryan Curran who swept home to make it 4-2. But a grandstand finish would ensue as Kirk Millar curled home a fantastic free-kick to give David Healy’s side hope.
There was to be no repeat of the Reds' last home encounter when Crusaders snatched an injury-time point and Paddy McLaughlIn’s side saw the game out to bring an end to Linfield’s seven-game unbeaten streak in the fixture.
“Ronan Doherty tonight was excellent in the middle of the park along with Hale and Bagnall," he added.
"That drive that Hale has is feeding off on other players and McCarey is demanding of people around him and I think the two of them have been brilliant additions so far. It’s only the start of what we’re trying to do.
“We’re still trying to build on what we had last year. We have under achieved until the last couple of weeks but the last few weeks we’ve started to look a bit more like ourselves."
CLIFTONVILLE: McCarey, Harney, Breen, Donnelly, C Curran, McMenamin (Teggart 85), Bagnall, Doherty, Hale, R Curran, McCrudden (O’Connor 79).
LINFIELD: Johns, Pepper, Haughey, Callacher, Quinn, Nasseri (Fallon 66), Mulgrew, McClean (Cooper 66), Millar, Stewart, Waterworth (Lavery 79).
REFEREE: Raymond Crangle
